How is this possible?

kristilynne84

I am sooo discouraged! I have not been (admittedly) very strict about MFP, but my diet has improved, I am eating out less and drinking a LOT less soda. I have also been exercising a couple of times a week. I'm about half time keeping track on MFP, maybe a little less.

And yet, I have not lost anything, in fact this morning I was UP (again!). I am soo discouraged--I know i need to be more strict about MFP and such, but when I am very strict I start to have huge guilt feelings whenever I go over my calorie limit, even by a little bit. I haven't recorded every day, either, but I have definitely been trying to eat out less and drink less soda and juice. My fridge and cupboard are filled with healthy foods....

*sigh.......can anyone help? I know what I need to do, but I think I just need to hear that I won't keep GAINING weight if I stick with this and get better about tracking.

pamperedpenguin

You definitely will lose weight! Just stick with it. Some weeks are harder then others and the whoosh! You lose 5 lbs in one.
Don't get discouraged!

bakerygirl78

I am sooo discouraged! I have not been (admittedly) very strict about MFP, but my diet has improved, I am eating out less and drinking a LOT less soda. I have also been exercising a couple of times a week. I'm about half time keeping track on MFP, maybe a little less.

And yet, I have not lost anything, in fact this morning I was UP (again!). I am soo discouraged--I know i need to be more strict about MFP and such, but when I am very strict I start to have huge guilt feelings whenever I go over my calorie limit, even by a little bit. I haven't recorded every day, either, but I have definitely been trying to eat out less and drink less soda and juice. My fridge and cupboard are filled with healthy foods....

*sigh.......can anyone help? I know what I need to do, but I think I just need to hear that I won't keep GAINING weight if I stick with this and get better about tracking.

The weight loss will come, just focus on what you HAVE accomplished - less soda, couple times a week of exercise & eating out less.

You can do it. We all get discouraged - just keep going. :flowerforyou:

mrs_chico

Thats the thing about weight loss...when I lose lbs I feel on top of the world...when I gain (or plateau) I get so discourage I want to quit...and in the past I usually do just simply quit. This is the advice I can give you: stay with it! The time will pass either way, stay strong during these crappy days, weeks, or even (ugh) months when the scale doesn't move. Drink more water, add in and extra workout. The lbs will drop off!!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

enigmachik

You really need to track everyday. At least for 90 days. Human beings are notorious for underestimating how many calories they eat and overestimating how much they exercise. This is true even with tracking, but is almost unavoidable without tracking. If you very consistently track, you will see results.

Angie_1991

don't get down...we didn't get fat over night it isn't going to fall off over night either. Sick with it! STick with us!!!

athenaheim

I have been there. Just remember you can do it and you have a great support team here.

TR0berts

Do a better job of tracking is step #1. That way, you can see where you may be "going wrong" with your diet/exercise. That, and make sure you compare the MFP logs to the labels. There's some foods that are on the MFP logs twice - make sure you get the right ones! I had one today that gave me an extra 100 calories. Luckily, I saw that it was wrong, but I found the right one on the list.

tinad120

I am sooo discouraged! I have not been (admittedly) very strict about MFP, but my diet has improved, I am eating out less and drinking a LOT less soda. I have also been exercising a couple of times a week. I'm about half time keeping track on MFP, maybe a little less.

And yet, I have not lost anything, in fact this morning I was UP (again!). I am soo discouraged--I know i need to be more strict about MFP and such, but when I am very strict I start to have huge guilt feelings whenever I go over my calorie limit, even by a little bit. I haven't recorded every day, either, but I have definitely been trying to eat out less and drink less soda and juice. My fridge and cupboard are filled with healthy foods....

*sigh.......can anyone help? I know what I need to do, but I think I just need to hear that I won't keep GAINING weight if I stick with this and get better about tracking.

Get better with tracking. Congrats on making healthier decisions, because it's the small changes that will really add up. But to see progress a little sooner, track what you eat, and track your workouts. People tend to underestimate calories eaten (healthy foods still have calories) and overestimate exercise calories, which in the end ends up being calories intake > calories expended = gain. Buckle down, track your calories, and you will see results.

ToughTulip

You have to track in order for it to work.It is very easy to overestimate calories burned and underestimate calories consumed

Log consistently everyday and give it time :flowerforyou:

crimznrose

One thing I can say is eating out is diet sabotage - even on the healthy menu. Most restaurant foods (fast food & dine-in restaurants alike) are loaded with sodium. Even if it's a healthy option on the menu, it's usually packed with sodium. Sodium retains water inour bodies, so a lot of that weight could flush through your system as water weight loss after just a week of eating clean.

Chief_Rocka

You're either:
(a) not in a caloric deficit, or
(b) haven't been in one for a long enough time

Marksman21

One tip: Plan your meals.

For me, its far easier to know my calorie level when I plan my meals ahead. What I'm going to cook, when, when I gonna eat it. Stick to it, and sometimes enjoy yourself when you got some wiggle room on the plan!

Ready2Rock206

Not going to work if you just track randomly... If you bite it, write it! :drinker:

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot

I've found that losses come in bunches. I can go 3 weeks without losing anything, and then drop 4-5 in the course of 5 days. Keep at it, it will pay off. Best of luck!

PaulW2MD

You got to track. Otherwise you are going to screw it up. The worst diet I hear from my patients is "the I'm trying to eat better" diet. With no rules, no structure, no results. Sucks but true.

PaveGurl

I find it's really easy for me to out-eat my exercise - if I don't measure stuff, I'm torched.

towardthefinish

You explained it perfectly in the second sentence. In order for weight loss to happen, you have to eat less calories than your body needs during the day. This forces your body to use it's calorie reserves for the energy it needs - i.e. excess weight, fat, etc.

If your not being strict about your diet, and only tracking about half the time, then you might be severely underestimating what your eating on those days. You stated you have a house full of healthy food - but weight loss is not about healthy vs. non-healthy foods...weight loss is about calories. I can easily go over my calories by eating strictly fruits and vegetables all day long....even the healthy foods have calories.

Take a deep breathe, and commit to strictly tracking EVERYTHING that you eat or drink - no matter how insignificant you think it may be. Keep that up for 6-8 weeks and you will lose weight.

LavaDoll

Have your thyroid levels checked.

Pie319

I've found that losses come in bunches. I can go 3 weeks without losing anything, and then drop 4-5 in the course of 5 days. Keep at it, it will pay off. Best of luck!

THIS

bokodasu

The thing is - you do kind of have to track every day for it to work. It's way, way easier to eat a calorie than it is to burn one. Bodies are sneaky little jerks - they really don't want to get rid of any of their hard-won stores, so they will do everything they can to trick your brain into eating more, and will also at the same time try to convince you that you're not actually eating more, especially if you've sent it a signal that you plan on eating less.

If it's stressful, it can help just to track - don't worry about the goals, just write everything down. Every day. And then you can see where you can make the small changes that have the biggest impacts - like maybe you think "I'm only having one soda a day!" but you realize you're drinking it out of a 32-oz mug. Or "oh, carrot cake, that's healthy!" and you track it and realize it's like the most calorie-dense food on the planet and it would be better just to eat a couple of Twinkies. I know those sound like dumb examples, but see "sneaky jerk," above - when I got back to tracking after a long period of "oh, I'm eating healthy, I'm just meant to be this weight" I realized that what I considered a serving of pasta was actually three, which you'd think I would notice since there are only 8 in a box. That kind of thing creeps up on you.

You're already facing in the right direction - keep going and you'll get there!

MinnieInMaine

Hm... a few thoughts...

Do you portion out your food? If not, even with healthier choices, you could still be overeating and getting too many calories.

Have you just started to work out? Whenever one begins or changes a workout routine, some water retention is bound to occur because it's part of the natural healing process within our muscles.

What have you replaced your soda with? If you're drinking any bottled waters, some can have as much sodium as soda and therefore the change may not be as great (due to water retention), even with the reduction of calorie intake.

It's tough because I get the point of not wanting to track if you're going to be obsessive. What if you just wrote down your food somewhere so that you're conscious of just how much you eat but aren't faced with the calories? Or up your calorie allowance so even if you go over a bit it won't go into the red and freak you out?

yoovie

srcardinal10

I'm having one of those moments myself. Three weeks of solid exercising and eating properly and nothing

BUT

What keeps me going? The end goal. People don't gain weight over night thus you can't lose it over night. As a woman (especially) weight fluctuates during different parts of the menstruation cycle. I can be up to 5lbs heavier during the week of my period (I have to watch it on the sodium)!

There are diet factors that you have to take into account. How much water are you drinking? What's your sodium intake? What cardio do you do, and how long? Are you strength training a few times a week?

There are small things that also add up: walk more often, park a little further away, carry items in the store instead of using a cart, stand/sit-up straight.

Suggestions:
1) Track consistently and give it time. Patience is a virtue (one that most of us don't have) and it's key. Don't get discouraged.
2) Use pinterest to find healthy recipes, exercises, and healthy tips.
3) Remember that you are doing this to be healthy, not skinny. Healthy is sexy!
4) Find friends to exercise with/that support healthy habits.
5) Try using MeetUp to find people in your area if you'd like to get a new circle of people to help change your lifestyle
6) This is a LIFESTYLE change...not a diet.
7) Own who you are and remember that you are lovely and unique.
8) Sign up for a (training) group for a race of some sort...a 5K, 10K, swimming, dancing...find what you like and make it fun!


Check out this article: 25 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight
http://www.fitsugar.com/Reasons-You-Losing-Weight-24882317?slide=18

And feel free to add me anyone! I could use all the motivation I can get.

Yanicka1

Yoovie beat me to it damn

vtmoon

The other half that you are not tracking is the reason. You would be surprised how easy it is to be over on calories when you don't track. You can gain weight even when eating super health, the only time you won't is when you are spending more calories than you are eating.

rml_16

I am sooo discouraged! I have not been (admittedly) very strict about MFP, but my diet has improved, I am eating out less and drinking a LOT less soda. I have also been exercising a couple of times a week. I'm about half time keeping track on MFP, maybe a little less.

And yet, I have not lost anything, in fact this morning I was UP (again!). I am soo discouraged--I know i need to be more strict about MFP and such, but when I am very strict I start to have huge guilt feelings whenever I go over my calorie limit, even by a little bit. I haven't recorded every day, either, but I have definitely been trying to eat out less and drink less soda and juice. My fridge and cupboard are filled with healthy foods....

*sigh.......can anyone help? I know what I need to do, but I think I just need to hear that I won't keep GAINING weight if I stick with this and get better about tracking.

I think you've answered your own question. Just because you've reduced calorie intake doesn't mean you've lowered it enough to stop gaining. You just will gain more slowly. That's why tracking is important.

Panthro12

You can do this. I am not an expert and just been at this about a month and half or so, but, I think tracking everything you eat definitely helps. Sometimes even if you think you are doing well by being picky with what you eat you can easily be surprised by how many calories you are consuming. Also, don't let this discourage you. Let it light your fire and make you work even harder in the end it will be worth it.

I went out to a restaurant with friends this weekend and though I did pretty well, just a couple slices of pizza, a little sample here and there from the sampler platter and thinking I did pretty well but when I got home and put the food I ate into MFP it was all about 1200 calories.

Tracking is definitely worth it. Even if you make a mistake and go over the calories for that particular day or meal you learn a lesson and learn how to make better decisions in the future.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

You know the answer, you're being your own worst enemy. How can you feel encouraged when you're not applying yourself. It sounds to me like you don't actually what to make a long term change, but instead want to have another reason not to keep trying. If you apply yourself and try and then fail THEN you can at least say you tried, but as it stands you can't even say that. Sometimes we totally defeat ourselves by not even trying. The fear of failure is so great that we let it win from the get go. Give yourself a chance to succeed.

yoovie

Yoovie beat me to it damn

opaquewhite

I hear you! I've been here since January, in the same boat as you, and haven't lost anything. Really defeating. :-(